Adjustable leg structure



July 8, 1958 e. P. KELLER ADJUSTABLE LEG STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed June 25, 1957 FIG. 2

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INVENTOR GUS PAVE PAUL KELLER B jM- LM- ,i y mb,

ATTORNEY G. P. KELLER ADJUSTABLE LEG STRUCTURE July 8, 1958 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 25, 1957 INVENTOR susTAvE PAUL KELLER ATTORNEY2,842,415 Patented July 8, 9

ADJUSTABLE LEG STRUCTURE Gustave Paul Keller, Long Beach, Calif.

Application June 25, 1957, Serial No. 667,746

4 Claims. (Cl. 3'1139) The main object of this invention is to providenovel and improved means to lock the adjustable leg structure to adaptfurniture to variable heights such as a coffee or cocktail table in itslow position of adjustment to a standard height card table at maximumheight, or a table low enough for small children at its low position toone high enough for an adult to use when he is standing, and to provideleg-supported furniture of any intermediate height for particularpurposes and for use by people of various heights sitting or standing.

The invention also has for its objects to provide such means that arepositive in operation, convenient in use, easily adjusted to a workingposition and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture,relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

. The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novelcombinations and arrangements of parts which will more fully appear inthe course of the following description.

While the invention that has been illustrated and described is nowregarded as the preferred embodiment, the construction is, of course,subject to modifications without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

It is, therefore, not desired to restrict the invention to theparticular forms of construction illustrated and described, but to coverall modifications that may fall within .thcflscope of the'appendedclaims.

7 It will be noted that with the construction disclosed,

there are no spring: actuated locking elements to get out of order.

While the invention is primarily designed for applicat-ion to fourlegged tables andis' so illustrated in the drawings, it is. to. beunderstood that the same is applicable to'various types of furnituresuch as chairs, stools, stands and the like- These and more detailed andspecific objects of my invention will be disclosed from the followingdetailed description of typical preferred forms of apparatus, throughoutwhich description reference is made to the accompanying drawings inwhich:

Fig. l is a bottom plane View, partly in section, of a common type ofcard table corner leg bracket assembly in folded position.

Fig. 2 is an under-side view, partly in section, looking in a directionat a right angle to Fig. 1-in other words Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the eccentric cam with the bolt mountedtherein.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a table construction provided with theleg structure of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a view, partly in section, of a modified form of leg extensionassembly with extendable part fitted inside upper leg part.

Fig. 6 is a side view of Fig. 5, partly in section showing thecomparatively small elliptical cam required when a combination push-tubeand pull-rod action is used in this modification.

Fig. 7 is a view showing a fragment of a lineal scale mounted on theunderside of the table and alongside the tubular table leg D and thetubular leg extension K.

Fig. 8 is a view, partly in section of another modification using apull-rod hinged as indicated externally to the leg at a point on thebracket eccentric to the centerline of the hinge E and performing thesame function as the pull-rod in Figs. 1 and 2 by entering the legthrough a slot below the bracket assembly.

Fig. 9 is a drawing of a tripod leg provided with the leg structure ofthe present invention, in which modification the cam is eliminatedbecause the pull on the pull rod is provided when the leg is swung byits hinge from the closed to the open position.

Referring now more particularly and by reference characters to thedrawing, A designates a common type of card table corner leg bracketassembly with spring-snapbracket B which snaps over head of rivet C whenleg D is fully opened to standing position. Fig. 1 shows the foldedposition. Mounted near the upper end of the leg bracket assembly is abolt or rivet E used both for the hinge pin for the leg and also as ashaft for an eccentric cam F which is a steel cylinder with a hole boredlongitudinally and eccentrically to provide about pull on the P shapedrod P when leg D is swung 90 degrees from folded position to standing position. The cam F is secured to bolt E with a set screw 2 or a spot weldand the head of bolt E is welded to the bracket A or kept from turningby a carriage bolt type of square shoulder pressed into a square hole inthe bracket so that a pull action is caused by the turning of the P rodwith the leg forcing the loop of the pull rod to turn on the fixed cam Fso that when the leg is turned 90 degrees to the standing position theupper P loop rests on the high side of the cam F. A washer G having anoutside diameter of Ms", which is the same outside diameter as the endof the tube on which it rests, is pro"- vided at its center with a holeor more in diameter through which the pull rod P slides. Adjacent thewasher G is positioned a cylinder H of neoprene or other specialrubbercompound, laboratory developed for maximum resiliency combined with ageand heat resistance and cold resistance and minimum compression set.

This cylinder has an outside diameter of Ms" with a hole passing throughits center with an inside diameter of or more through which the pull rodpasses.

Threaded to screw on the end of the rod P. and against the specialcompound cylinder H i s a' thick disk I.

On the screw threaded end of the rod P is a wing n-ut I which serves asa jam nut to prevent the disk I- from loosening.

Over the table leg D there slides snugly but smoothly, a tubular legextension K. On the inner underside edge L of the table and parallel tothe folded leg there is affixed a lineal scale in inches or centimeterssuch as illustrated in Fig. '7 showing frequently needed heights.

On the end of the leg extension is. there is fitted a disk shaped footpiece M which is held in position by spring arms N which bear againstthe inner side of the leg extension. This foot piece may also beattached to the wing nut J and disk I by means of a nylon cord 0, thelength of the cord being adjusted to permit maximum extension withoutpermitting assembly to come apart when so extended. Figs. 5 and 6illustrate a modified bines both a push and pull movement, a pushmovement against the push tube R and a pulling movement of the pull rodP.

Fig. 6 shows an elongated hole S in the push tube to permit the pushtube to pass the rivet C. It will also be observed that the legextension W is provided with a flange V- as shown in Fig. 5. A bushing Xis pressed into the end of leg K so that when the flange contacts thebushing at maximum extension the assembly is prevented from comingapart. The improved leg structure could also be applied to a tripod asclearly shown in Fig. 9.

The operation of the device is simple. When in folded position the legextension K is moved over the table leg D the desired distance indicatedby the lineal scale mounted alongside the table leg D and the legextension K. When the table leg D is fully opened to standing position,the spring snap bracket B snaps over the head of rivet C. A pull actionis caused by the turning of the P'rod with the leg forcing the loop ofthe pull rod to turn on the fixed cam F so that when the leg is turned90 degrees to the standing position the upper P loop rests on the highside of the cam F and the rubber cylinder H is compressed firmly againstthe inside of the leg extension K thus locking the leg extension at thedesired length.

Having described only two preferred forms and applications of myinvention and only typical manners of carrying out the method of myinvention, it is to be appreciated that many details of construction maybe changed or modified without departing from the spirit of the presentinvention and it is, therefore, desired to be limited only by the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a corner leg bracket assembly comprising a tubular table leg, abolt or rivet mounted near the upper end of the table leg, an eccentriccam, said bolt being used both as a hinge pin for the table leg and alsoas a shaft for the cam, a rivet passing through the table leg below andparallel to the first named rivet, a spring snap bracket which snapsover the head of said rivet when the table leg is fully opened tostanding position, a tubular leg extension slidable over'the table leg,a washer mounted at the lower end of the table leg, a rubber compoundcylinder mounted within the leg extension and adjacent said washer, athreaded disk screwed adjacent the lower end of said rubber cylinder, ahole passing through the center of said washer and rubber cylinder, aP-shaped threaded pull rod swiveled on said eccentric cam and passingthrough said hole, and a wing nut on the threaded end of said rodwhereby when the leg is turned to standing position, the rubber cylinderis compressed firmly against the inside of the leg extension thuslocking the leg extension at the desired length.

2. In a corner leg bracket assembly comprising a tubular table leg, abolt or rivet mounted near the upper end of the table leg, an eccentriccam, said bolt being used both as a hinge pin for the table leg and alsoas a shaft for the cam, a rivet passing through the table leg below andparallel to the first named rivet, a spring snap bracket which snapsover the head of said rivet, when the table leg is swung to standingposition, a tubular leg extension slidable over the table leg, a rubbercompound cylinder mounted within the leg extension, a hole passingthrough the center of said rubber cylinder, 21 P- sh-aped threaded pullrod swiveled on said eccentric cam and passing through said hole, a diskand a wing nut on the threaded end of said rod, whereby when the leg isturned to standing position, the rubber cylinder is compressed firmlyagainst the inside of the leg extension thus locking the leg extensionat the desired length.

3. In a corner leg bracket assembly comprising a tubular table leg, abolt or rivet mounted near the upper end of the table leg, an eccentriccam, said bolt being used both as a hinge pin for the table leg and alsoas a shaft for the cam, a tubular leg extension slidable over the tableleg, a rubber compound cylinder mounted within the leg extension, a holepassing through the center of said rubber cylinder, a P-shaped threadedpull rod swiveled on said eccentric cam and passing through said hole, adisk and a wing nut on the threaded end of said rod, whereby when theleg is turned to standing position, the rubber cylinder is compressedfirmly against the inside of the leg extension thus locking the legextension at the desired length. 7

4. In a bracket assembly comprising a tubular table leg, a tubular legextension slidable over the table leg, a bolt or rivet mounted near theupper end of the table leg, a rubber compound cylinder mounted withinthe leg extension, an eccentric cam, said bolt being used as a hinge pinfor the table leg and also as a shaft for the cam, a P-shaped threadedpull rod, a disk and a wing nut on the threaded end of said rod wherebywhen the leg is turned to standing position, the rubber cylinder iscompressed firmly against the inside of the leg extension, thus lockingthe leg extension at the desired length, a disk shaped foot piece fittedon the leg extension, a cord of adjustable length attached to the footpiece and to the wing nut and disk to permit maximum extension withoutpermitting assembly to come apart when so extended.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,009,590 Potigian ...July 30, 1935 2,010,041 Slee Aug. 6, 19352,323,423 Schmidt et al. July 6, 1943 2,744,712 Brandt May 8, 1956

